Deborah Madison’s Curried Coconut Corn Soup
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Shortly after making Samin Nosrat’s five-ingredient corn soup from Salt Fat Acid Heat, a commenter pointed me to Deborah Madison’s curried coconut corn soup, which employs the same technique: making a stock from the stripped corn kernels and water.
It’s a brilliant and simple technique that provides tremendous flavor in a very brief amount of time. In Deborah’s soup, the stock gets added to a pot of curry-spiced sautéed onions, along with the stripped corn kernels, coconut milk, fresh cilantro, and lime juice.
The combination, which happens to be vegan, is utterly delicious: it’s full of texture, spiced but not spicy, and naturally sweet and tart thanks to the corn and lime. There’s a subtle richness and creaminess lent by the coconut milk.
Deborah likes to serve this curried coconut corn soup over basmati rice, with a swirl of yogurt and a sprig of cilantro. I’ve yet to do any of these things as I find it deeply satisfying on its own: Warm up a hunk of bread and call dinner done.
Deborah Madison’s Curried Coconut Corn Soup
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Description
After writing about Samin Nosrat’s silky sweet corn soup that calls for making a corn cob stock, a commenter mentioned she learned the corn cob stock technique from Deborah Madison and pointed me to this recipe. I made it and loved it.
The original recipe calls for garam masala in addition to the other spices as well as a tablespoon of flour. I left the flour out, because it seemed unnecessary, and I’ve made a few other adjustments, so reference the original recipe if you are curious.
Ingredients
- 4 ears corn, yellow or white varieties, shucked
- 8 cilantro sprigs plus 2 to 4 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup finely diced red or white onion, trimmings reserved
- 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds or ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds or ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon hot or mild paprika
- Sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 can unsweetened coconut milk (1 and 1/2 to 2 cups)
- Juice of 1 lime, or more to taste
Instructions
- Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Meanwhile, slice the corn off the cobs. I’ve been doing this in a shallow bowl/plate lined with a tea towel — a tip from Samin Nosrat’s Salt Fat Acid Heat. See photos above.
- Break the cobs and put them in the heating water with the cilantro branches and any onion trimmings (Note: red onion trimmings turn the stock very dark/murky—I now leave them out). Simmer for at least 15 minutes–longer if you can–then strain.
- Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, cook for 3 to 4 minutes. If you’re using whole cumin and coriander seeds, toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat till they darken and become fragrant, then grind in a mortar and pestle. Add them to the onions along with the paprika and turmeric, and cook a few minutes more. Add in the coconut milk, the corn, the chopped cilantro, 1 and 1/2 cups stock, and 1 teaspoon salt. If the soup is too thick, thin it with more stock. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Squeeze in the juice of half of the lime. Taste, and add the juice of the other half if desired. Taste, adjusting the salt if needed. I add about another teaspoon of kosher salt (so 2 teaspoons total) but I like salt, so adjust to taste.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
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14 Comments on “Deborah Madison’s Curried Coconut Corn Soup”
This coincides with four beautiful ears of corn and some gorgeous cilantro in this week’s farm box. Off to the kitchen now! I think a loaf of your garlic bread will be the perfect partner.
Yay!! So happy to hear this, Stacey. And yes to garlic bread! 🙂 🙂 🙂
The only thing I have is the coconut milk 😀 Off to the supermarket now
woohoo!
It’s very similar to a corn curry that we make here in india. The difference is we add ‘garam masala’ (which is a mixture of cardamom, cloves and cinnamon, all whole) and a bay leaf. Instead of taking the corn off the cob, we cut the whole raw cob into p 3 to 4 pieces and boil it to make the gravy and stock! We keep the gravy think and eat it with rice!!! And since we eat with our hands a lot, we just pick up the cob and bite the corn off the cob!
That sounds SOOO good Brinda. Would love to try it sometime.
I’m thinking that your chili powder and my chili powder aren’t the same. I don’t think my version of chili powder would go well with a curry because it’s usually a mix of dried and ground peppers but with an ancho chile pepper base. I’m thinking that your “chili powder” is something like cayenne or more Thai inspired than Mexican types of chilis?
It’s very possible that our chili powders are different! I don’t actually know what the makeup of most generic chili brands consists of — there’s probably a little bit of cayenne, but I don’t think a ton, because generally they aren’t too spicy. I like using ancho chili powder, which is spicy, and chipotle chili powder, which is smoky — it’s a nice mix. Are you thinking of using chili powder in this recipe?
Do you have any tips on making this with canned corn? I would love to make this for my sister who is pretty sad she can’t go back to college for the rest of the semester because of the current state of things, but do not have access to fresh ears of corn. Any tips appreciated! Thanks so much!
This soup is absolutely delicious! My husband thinks it’s the best soup I’ve ever made. We both loved all the delicate layers of flavors in the soup. It’s is definitely a keeper. I haven’t made a recipe yet of yours Ali that is not a keeper. You are keeping me very entertained and well fed during the pandemic! Thank you for so many incredible recipes!!!!!
Wonderful to hear this, Pam! I think about this soup this time every year, when the local corn starts making its way to the farmstands… sooo good!
I thought the soup had amazing, mouth popping flavor! The broth made with the cobbs and some parsley (didn’t have cilantro at that point) was ultra rich in flavor. Incredibly delicious with the sweetness of the coconut milk and spices. My only problem was the texture – I guess I cut the corn too close to the cob, and a lot of that tough casing from the root of each kernel made for unpleasant mouth feel and the need to discard it when it couldn’t really be chewed. Did anyone else have this problem? Still, I can’t wait to have it again!
Do you think this recipe would freeze well?
Yes!